Welcome back to The Deep Dive, where we give
you the context to instantly get up to speed
on fascinating topics. Always good to be diving
in. Today, we are looking at someone truly unique,
a real force, Juliette Lewis. Absolutely. And
it's more than just profiling an actress, isn't
it? It's really about understanding this trajectory.
Yeah, trajectory defined by, I guess, volatility,
fierce authenticity, and just... Wow. Incredible
versatility. Across three distinct careers, which
is pretty remarkable. Yeah. You've got the Oscar
-nominated film star in the 90s. Right. Then
the full -on rock star phase in the 2000s. And
now this really acclaimed resurgence in prestige
television. Exactly. So that's our deep dive
mission today. We want to trace that whole arc
from her very unconventional start, that early
emancipation. Which is a story in itself. Right
through to where she is now with shows like Yellowjacks.
We need to understand how she created that niche
for herself, playing those offbeat characters,
often in films with dark plots. And how her own
story, her personal life, informed all of that.
It's definitely not your standard Hollywood narrative.
Not even close. It's a study and reinvention,
maybe. Yeah. And just sheer creative will. I
think so. And to really get it, you have to see
how incredibly fast and intense her initial rise
was. It started way earlier than most people
probably realize. Okay, so let's get into that.
Section one, the dramatic rise. People think
90s cinema, but she was already working professionally
on TV at, what, 14? That's right. Her first significant
screen appearance was actually in a TV film back
in 1987 called Home Fires. Okay. And even then,
as a total newcomer, she caught the eye of critics.
The Los Angeles Times Review said she lights
up the screen high praise right out of the gate.
Wow. And then she immediately landed a main role
on an ABC sitcom, Bob Married Dora, playing Kate
Farrell. That ran for a season 87 to 88. So she
was building serious TV credits really young.
But the thing that always stands out from that
early period is the emancipation. At 14, that
sounds intense. It does. And it's a really key
piece of understanding her drive, I think. So,
yeah, age 14, legally emancipated from her parents.
Now, usually you hear that and think, oh, troubled
family situation, right? Exactly. But in her
case, she's always been clear. It was done with
her parents' full support. It was a purely practical,
professional decision. Practical? How so? What
does being an emancipated minor... actually let
you do as a young actor? Well, it basically boils
down to work hours and regulations. She explained
that producers just preferred seeing emancipated
minor on a resume. Oh, okay. It meant she wasn't
bound by the stricter child labor laws concerning
how many hours she could work on set, schooling
requirements, things like that. She could work
longer days like the adult. So it was about maximizing
her availability, her employability. Pretty much.
It showed this incredible level of commitment
to her career, this professional independence
before she could even legally drive. That focus
is, well, it's something else. It really sets
a different tone than the, you know, the chaotic
energy she'd become famous for portraying later
on. So from TV, she moves into film pretty quickly.
Yeah. Small parts at first, like a minor role.
And my stepmother is an alien in 88. Right. But
her first big supporting role, the one people
definitely remember, came just a year later.
Audrey Griswold. In National Lampoon's Christmas
Vacation. 1989. Exactly. A holiday classic. She
was only 15, but sources say she knew even then,
like, this is a big deal. She sensed it would
stick around. And then came a role that kind
of foreshadowed the darker stuff, didn't it?
And it involved a pretty significant personal
connection, too. You're thinking of the Lifetime
movie Too Young to Die from 1990. Yeah, with
Brad Pitt. Right. They co -starred and then famously
dated for about four years after that. In the
film, she played Amanda, this really troubled
teenager involved in prostitution, drugs, ultimately
accused of murder. That's heavy material for
Lifetime, especially back then. It was. And it
was really the first time critics widely recognized
her talent for that kind of intense, edgy material.
The L .A. Times again praised her authentic portrayal
of this young, abused character. She was already
showing that ability to go to those dark places,
believably. But then came the explosion. The
role that just catapulted her onto the international
stage. Martin Scorsese's Cape Fear, 1991. That
was it. The seismic shift. A huge, highly anticipated
remake. And she had to really fight for that
role. And Danielle Bowden, the daughter targeted
by De Niro's Max Cady. Terrifying. Absolutely
terrifying. And she apparently beat out something
like 500 other actresses for that part. 500.
Wow. Yeah. And the payoff was immediate. Oscar
nomination, Golden Globe nomination, best supporting
actress for both at such a young age. The critics
must have gone wild. They did. Vincent Canby
at The New York Times called her a new young
actress of stunning possibilities. But it wasn't
just about her being good. It was about what
she brought to the film's dynamic. Well, The
Hollywood Reporter pointed out that she provided
the strongest real counterbalance to De Niro's
crazy caddy. Her performance, that mix of innocence,
confusion, fear, and then that slow, unsettling
kind of seduction by Caddy. That infamous scene
in the school theater. Exactly. It's still incredibly
powerful. It requires this amazing balancing
act, and she just nailed it. How did she talk
about working with Scorsese on something so intense,
so defining? She described it in really profound
terms, like being anointed, getting her creative
wings. She said it changed me and gave me a confidence.
And she was clear it wasn't about the awards,
the outside accolades, as she put it. It was
about that feeling of being taken seriously,
being nurtured by a master. That confidence clearly
fueled what came next, which brings us right
into section two, the quintessential 90s edgy
icon. Yeah. Having arrived with Cape Fear, she
didn't shy away. She leaned right into those
dark, volatile, complex roles. It really cemented
her reputation. That Lewis volatility became
her signature almost. Pretty much. And she jumped
straight into more high -profile, challenging
stuff. Woody Allen's Husbands and Wives in 92.
Right. Playing Rain, the college student who
catches Woody Allen's character's eye, was described
as Lolita -esque. Yeah. The Washington Post called
her performance sumptuous. She had this ability
to be both alluring and unsettling at the same
time. Then she reunited with Brad Pitt for California
in 1993. A really dark neo -noir thriller. She
played Adele, the sort of childlike, almost vacant
girlfriend of Pitt's serial killer character.
And that performance got some incredible praise,
didn't it? Roger Ebert especially. He did. Ebert
called it one of the most harrowing and convincing
performances I've ever seen, which is huge praise
from him. What made it so harrowing, do you think?
I think it was the sheer authenticity she brought.
She didn't play Adele as just, you know, dumb
or evil. There was this tragic emptiness, this
vulnerability under the surface. You saw how
she was manipulated. It felt disturbingly real,
not like a caricature. But then in that same
year, 1993, she completely flips the script.
Right. What's eating Gilbert Grape? Playing Becky.
The free spirit who kind of blows into town and
offers this glimmer of hope, this connection
for Leonardo DiCaprio's and Johnny Depp's characters.
Exactly. She's the light in that film, the potential
for escape from that suffocating small town life.
It showed she had this incredible range already.
She could go from Adele's terrifying darkness
to Becky's sort of vibrant optimism and be completely
believable in both. Which makes what came next
even more impactful, I guess. Yeah. The role
that truly cemented the edgy icon image, but
also came with, well, consequences. You mean
Mallory Knox. Natural Born Killers, 1994. Oliver
Stone. Yeah. Playing one half of that murderous
couple on a cross -country killing spree. An
incredibly intense, stylized performance. She
won the Best Actress Award at the Venice Film
Festival for it. But the film itself. Massively
controversial. Hugely controversial. It got slammed
for its extreme violence, and perhaps more damagingly,
it was linked in the media to actual copycat
crimes. That created a huge public backlash.
So the role brought acclaim, but also serious
baggage. Right, definitely. Lewis herself later
admitted that playing someone with that level
of volatility and repulsive behavior actually
hurt her career for a while. How so? Did it lead
to typecasting? Pretty much. The industry seemed
to pigeonhole her as just volatile or dangerous.
While critics like Rolling Stone praised her
performance, they called it sensational, saying
she found the Wildcat and the Bruce Child and
Mallory, the cultural fallout made it harder
for her to get cast in more conventional, maybe
sympathetic leading roles afterwards. So she
leaned into more genre work. Seems like it. She
funneled that energy into some interesting projects.
Catherine Bigelow's Strange Days in 95. Sci -fi,
right? She played a rock singer. Yeah, Faith
Justin. And she actually did her own singing
on a couple of PJ Harvey covers written for the
film, which kind of foreshadows her next career
move, doesn't it? Definitely. Strange Days. didn't
do well initially, did it? No, it bombed at the
box office, but it's become a real cult classic
since then. Shows her early musical connection.
Then she did The Basketball Diaries, also 95.
Playing a heroin addict. Another really raw,
intense role based on Jim Carroll's memoir. Exploring
that theme of addiction and vulnerability again.
And then, for a complete change of pace, From
Dusk Till Dawn in 1996. Ah, yeah. Robert Rodriguez's
vampire flick, where she plays Kate Fuller. The
preacher's daughter. The clean living ingenue,
as critics called her. Exactly. Critics like
Janet Maslin pointed out the irony, right? Here's
the actress known for playing dangerous characters,
now playing the picture of innocence, trapped
with vampires. It showed she could still access
that lighter side, even if audiences half expected
her to sprout fangs. So rounding out the decade,
she took on something she described as her toughest
challenge yet. The Other Sister, 1999. Playing
Carla, a young woman with an intellectual disability
fighting for her independence. She said she was
scared by that role, called it the hardest she'd
ever had to play. And you can see why. It requires
incredible sensitivity and precision. And critics
felt she delivered. The New York Times praised
her enormous heart and sensitivity, and specifically
her precise body language. They said, you forgot
you were watching a performance. It really demonstrated
that her intensity wasn't just about rage or
chaos. It could be channeled into deep empathy.
Absolutely. And that versatility, that willingness
to tackle such different challenges, really set
the stage for her next big move, the pivot into
music. Okay, section three, the rock star pivot.
Around the early 2000s. But crucially, she didn't
just drop acting, did she? She juggled both.
That's the amazing part. She maintained both
at a high level. Even before the band fully launched,
she was still getting strong notices for her
film work. Like what? Well, in 2000, she was
in The Way of the Gun, played a pregnant woman
who gets kidnapped. The Austin Chronicle praised
her performance for its rich veins of honesty
and truth. And she got TV recognition too, right?
An Emmy nomination. Yes, for the HBO film Hysterical
Blindness in 2002, co -starring with Uma Thurman.
She got nominations for both an Emmy and an Independent
Spirit Award for that. She was also in the thriller
Enough with Jennifer Lopez that year. So the
acting career was still very much active. But
then 2003 hits and she dies headfirst into music.
Full Commitment forms the rock band Juliet and
the Licks. And notably, she brought in Patti
Schemel, the former drummer from Hole, Courtney
Love's band. That signaled serious intent. this
wasn't some actor's side project not at all they
toured relentlessly released their first ep like
a bolt of lightning in 2004 and their first full
album you're speaking my language in 2005. what
was the sound did that screen intensity translate
to the stage oh definitely the music was this
raw garage rock tongue influence sound thing
Iggy Pop, early PJ Harvey maybe, and Lewis herself.
As a front woman, she was explosive. Physical.
Incredibly physical. All that energy, that volatility
people saw on screen, she just unleashed it live.
Kinetic, unpredictable, sometimes chaotic. It
was a performance. So the Mallory Knox energy
found a new outlet. Pretty much. And the critics,
especially in the UK, really responded to it.
They saw it as authentic and frankly exciting
in a rock scene that maybe felt a bit safe at
the time. The Guardian wrote she had this iconic
presence that boringly boy saturated rock needs.
Wow. High praise. They released a second album,
too, right? Yep, Four on the Floor in 2007, which
meant more grueling tour schedules. It's a demanding
lifestyle, fronting a serious rock band. And
her musical footprint spread beyond the band,
too. Yeah, she popped up in interesting places.
She did guest vocals on a track for the Prodigies
album Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned in
2004. Oh, cool. Appeared in music videos for
Melissa Etheridge way back and for the band Hymn.
And maybe most memorably for some, she voiced
the DJ Juliet on the fictional radio station
radio broker in Grand Theft Auto IV. I remember
that. That's brilliant. Right. It showed her
cultural reach was expanding into different areas.
But somehow, amidst all the touring and recording,
she's still appearing in movies and not just
intense dramas anymore. Exactly. She showed the
surprisingly adept comedic side during this period.
Which maybe wasn't what people expected after
the 90s. Like Old School in 2003. Totally. And
Starsky and Hutch in 2004. Big studio comedies.
She played these kind of fun, slightly unhinged
supporting characters really well. And they liked
her enough in Old School to bring her back for
a cameo years later, right? Yeah. She reprised
her role as Heidi in Due Date in 2010. It showed
that comedic timing was recognized. Then there
was Whip It in 2009. Drew Barrymore's directing
debut. Another great role for her, playing Iron
Maven, the aggressive rival roller derby captain.
The Guardian nailed it, describing her performance
as all grimy attitude and slinky rock chick insouciance.
It perfectly blended her rock persona with a
screen role. So she's juggling music, comedy,
drama. In 2009, she goes solo musically, too.
Yeah, released her first solo album, Terra Incognita.
Still touring, still creating music under her
own name after the licks went on hiatus. And
then closes out this incredible... busy decade
with another acclaimed acting role. Conviction,
the 2010 film with Hilary Swank and Sam Rockwell.
She played Rosanna Perry, a key witness in the
murder case. And she stole the show, apparently.
That's what the critics said. The Wall Street
Journal literally called her a scene stealer.
And she won the Boston Society of Film Critics
Award for Best Supporting Actress for it. So
that whole decade, basically 2000 to 2010, proved
she could sustain these two incredibly demanding
careers simultaneously, rock star and acclaimed
actress. It's pretty extraordinary. When you
lay it out like that, the discipline required
is immense. Which perfectly sets up her current
chapter, section four, the television and prestige
film resurgence from 2011 onwards. Right. This
is where she starts really leveraging all that
accumulated experience, the intensity, the discipline,
the public persona into these incredibly rich,
complex roles, often dealing with the aftermath
of trauma or difficult lives. We see that focus
early in this period with some key film roles.
Hick in 2011. Playing an alcoholic mother in
1980s Nebraska. A return to that darker, emotionally
challenging territory, but perhaps with a new
layer of maturity or weariness. And then the
big ensemble piece, August. Osage County in 2013.
Based on that massive Pulitzer Prize winning
play. A huge cast, Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts.
Lewis played Karen, one of the dysfunctional
sisters returning home. The film got kind of
mixed reviews, didn't it? Some found it maybe
too theatrical or over the top. It did, but Lewis
consistently got singled out for praise. Critics
felt she grounded her part of the story. Mick
LaSalle at SFGate wrote that he felt her performance
was maybe the only one that had a complete grasp
of the material's proper tone. That's interesting.
She could handle the high drama but make it feel
real. Exactly. She has that ability. Then came
a role in 2014 that seemed almost tailor -made
for her public image, playing with her past.
Ah, you mean Kelly and Cal. The riot girl turns
suburban mom film. Yeah. playing a former punk
rocker who's now struggling with the monotony
of being a housewife and new mother. It's such
a fascinating concept for her specifically. And
the reviews really picked up on how well she
navigated that. What did they say? The New York
Times noted how she conveys the excruciating
discomfort of being this former rebel stuck in
a staid middle class existence. They said her
performance crackled with authenticity because.
You know, she had lived outside those conventional
boundaries. The struggle felt earned. That authenticity
seems to be the key word as she transitions more
heavily into television around this time, starting
with Secrets and Lies. Yeah, she starred in that
ABC crime drama for two seasons, 2015 to 2016,
played Detective Andrea Cornell. How was that
received? It felt like a more conventional role
for her, maybe? It was. And honestly, the reception
was pretty mixed, especially for her character.
Some critics found Detective Cornell a bit one
note or cliched. Neil Genslinger, again at the
Times, called the character a cliche stretched
beyond the point of believability. So it maybe
showed that she needs strong material to really
shine. She can't just coast on her persona. I
think that's fair. Her unique energy works best
when the writing gives her something complex
to dig into, not just a standard procedural trope.
But she stayed busy in TV. Other roles around
that time. Definitely. She had a recurring part
in the sci -fi series Wayward Pines in 2015,
and then a guest role in The Act on Hulu in 2019.
Oh, The Act. The D .D. Blanchard story. That
was incredibly well received. It was. Very disturbing.
Very strong performances all around. Her presence
added to that quality ensemble. But the real
game changer, the role that feels like a culmination
of everything, has to be Yellow Jackets. Absolutely.
Starting in 2021, playing the adult, Natalie
Scatorcio, one of the survivors of that plane
crash, carrying decades of trauma, addiction,
secrets. The show was just an explosion. Huge
critical claim, massive buzz, and Lewis was right
at the center of it. Her performance was universally
praised. The Guardian called her sublime, highlighting
how she captured the nuances of tentative empathy.
glimmers of optimism within a deep chasm of grief.
It felt like a role that perfectly synthesized
her history of playing volatile, damaged characters,
but demanded this incredible underlying vulnerability.
And it brought her back into the major awards
conversation in a big way. Yes. Her first primetime
Emmy nomination came for Yellow Jackets, and
then, almost immediately after, she got her second
Emmy nomination. For Welcome to Chippendales
in 2022. Right. playing Denise Coughlin, the
very direct, very capable costume designer who
works with the Chippendales founder. Another
fantastic scene -stealing performance. Richard
Roper called her outstanding in that. It's fascinating,
this late career peak in terms of awards recognition,
especially considering how she's talked about
typecasting over the years. It is. She admitted
she worried about it, especially after Natural
Born Killers. And she's been quite specific about
Natalie in Yellowjacket, saying the character
is nothing like myself, even if people see echoes
of past roles, the toughness, the wrong side
of the tracks vibe. What's her take on why it
took so long for this kind of recognition? Well,
she said something really telling, like it took
like 30 years for people to go, wow, she does
unpredictable stuff and it's high quality. It's
like the industry finally caught up with the
complexity and the consistency she'd been delivering
all along. And just to confirm, the music didn't
completely disappear during this TV resurgence.
No, she keeps that alive, too. Released a solo
EP called Future Deep in 2016. Her first new
music in about seven years at that point. The
dual identity is clearly still important to her.
It all feels interconnected, doesn't it? The
life, the acting, the music. Which brings us
to the personal context. Section 5. Yeah, understanding
some of the personal background really helps
connect the dots, I think. Especially when you
consider the intensity she brings to her work.
We have to acknowledge the challenges she faced
early on, which perhaps informs some of those
darker roles. The arrest at 16. Right. In 1989,
arrested for underage drinking, trying to get
into a bar. A minor incident, maybe, but indicative
of that rebellious streak. And she's spoken openly
about more serious struggles later. Yes, about
a years -long addiction to cocaine and prescription
drugs in her early adult years, largely during
that intense 90s period. You can certainly see
how processing that experience could fuel the
raw, believable pain in roles like The Basketball
Diaries or even The Abandoned of Mallory Knox.
How about her personal relationships during that
pivot phase? She was married for a time. Mm -hmm.
married the pro skateboarder Steve Barra in September
1999. That timing is interesting, right as her
film career was maybe less front and center and
she was gearing up for the music. And they divorced
just as the band was taking off. Exactly. Divorced
in April 2003, right around the time Juliet and
the Licks was really forming and starting to
tour. Did she say much about the split? She described
it as amicable, but her reasoning ties back beautifully
to that theme of professional focus. we saw with
the Emancipation. She basically said they were
both workaholics, and she realized, I only actually
have enough steam to focus on my own thing. Wow.
That's a very clear statement of artistic priority.
Isn't it? It underlines that sense of needing
independence to pursue her creative path, whether
it was acting or music. Now, we also need to
address her connection to Scientology, sticking
strictly to impartial reporting of what's in
the sources. Right. So the record shows she was
born into it. Her father, Jeffrey Liris, was
a Scientologist. She began practicing it herself
in the 1990s. And she publicly credited it. with
helping her overcome her addiction issues. Yes,
specifically Scientology's Narconin program.
She framed it as a key part of her rehabilitation
during that difficult period. How does she talk
about her affiliation publicly over the years?
Well, the public statements evolved. In 2010,
she confirmed she was a Scientologist, but also
identified as a Christian, explaining her understanding
that you could practice both. She seemed to emphasize
a personal, spiritual interpretation. And she
defended her right to choose her own beliefs.
In 2015, she spoke about protecting her freedom
of religion, saying she kind of just rolls with
people's misconceptions. She presented it as
a matter of personal freedom. But there was a
shift more recently. Yes. Around 2021, coinciding
with her major TV success with Yellow Jackets,
she began to publicly distance herself from the
label. In interviews with both The New York Times
and The Washington Post, she stated that she
considers herself a spiritualist and does not
identify as a Scientologist anymore. So a clear
evolution in her public identification later
in her career. Exactly. It shows a separation,
aligning with this current phase focused heavily
on her acclaimed acting work. And just briefly,
her philanthropy often ties back to her passions,
too. Yeah, a nice example is her support for
Little Kids Rock, which funds music education
in schools. She donated a custom -painted Fender
guitar to help them raise money. It connects
her music side with giving back. So putting it
all together, the personal challenges, the intense
focus, the religious evolution, the dual careers,
it paints a picture of someone whose art is deeply
intertwined with a complex, unconventional life.
Absolutely. It wasn't about crafting a perfect
Hollywood image. It was about channeling lived
experience, the good, the bad, the intense into
her work with remarkable discipline. OK, let's
wrap up this deep dive. We've traced this incredible,
multifaceted career. Juliette Lewis. Oscar nominee,
Golden Globe nominee, two time primetime Emmy
nominee and legit rock star. It's quite the resume
from that breakout teen role in Cape Fear to
the critically adored complex adult survivor
in Yellow Jackets. She's navigated multiple industries,
multiple eras. And the common thread seems to
be this fearless embrace of complexity, of darkness,
of volatility. She refused to be easily categorized
either on screen or on stage. Her career is really
a testament to the power. of staying true to
that unique energy, even when the industry tries
to label you or box you in. Which leads us perfectly
into our final provocative thought for you, our
listeners. We talked about Lewis's struggle with
typecasting, especially after a role as definitive
and controversial as Mallory Knox in Natural
Born Killers. She worried about being stuck in
that volatile box. Right. But here she is, decades
later. receiving her highest critical acclaim
and those Emmy nominations for playing characters
like Natalie in Yellow Jackets or Denise in Chippendales,
characters who are undeniably tough, often damaged,
maybe seen as being from the wrong side of the
tracks. So the question this raises is really
interesting. Considering she found this profound
success by, in a way, perfecting and deepening
that same unique creative energy that people
tried to label or maybe limit years ago. Does
that suggest that true professional maturity
for any of us? might actually involve finally
embracing, refining, and fully owning those specific,
maybe unconventional traits that make up our
unique signature. Think about it. What parts
of your own past experience or reputation, things
you perhaps once saw as limitations or things
to overcome, might actually hold the key to your
most authentic and successful future path? Something
powerful to reflect on. Definitely. Thanks for
joining us for this deep dive. We'll get you
on the next one.